HR info RH Bulletin

ESDC is one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for the third year in a row!

It is with great pride that we announce that ESDC has been named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for the third year in a row!

The Canada's Top 100 Employers project is a national competition that recognizes employers from across Canada in the private and public sectors that offer exceptional workplaces for their employees.

The award was announced publicly in a special magazine feature in The Globe and Mail on November 12, 2021. The Deputy Ministers recently sent a message with a video thanking and congratulating all employees.

As you'll see, the Deputy Ministers' message highlights some creative tools and methods that allow you to demonstrate your pride as ESDC employees! This is your award, so take a moment, and visit ESDC's Canada's Top 100 Employers page. On this page, you will find our special Top Employer MS Teams Background for your virtual work meetings, and the logo to be used as your personal Outlook profile picture.

Don't forget to show your pride by using the hashtag #ESDCTop100Employer, if you have a social media account. Take a photo of you celebrating!

Congratulations, once again, to all of you on this important accomplishment!

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COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement in the context of staffing

As per the new Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration (including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police), all employees of the core public administration must be fully vaccinated unless accommodated based on a certified medical contraindication, religion, or other prohibited ground for discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA).

This means that being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is a condition of employment of the Government of Canada. Job advertisements posted on GC Jobs now include a reference to vaccination as a condition of employment.

Accommodation requests from employees or candidates who are unable to be vaccinated due to a certified medical contraindication, religion, or other prohibited ground for discrimination under the CHRA will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The vaccination requirement applies to all types of staffing actions, including indeterminate and term appointments/deployments, acting appointments, casual employment, part-time workers and students. It equally applies to Interchange Canada participants. Full vaccination is required for all employees regardless of position, function, location or delivery of services to the public. It applies to employees working in the physical workplace, those working remotely/teleworking and those with a flexible work arrangement.

Important Change:

Effective November 1, 2021, managers must validate that the vaccination requirement is met prior to making any employment offer (to both persons coming from outside the public service and current public service employees from other government departments/agencies or within ESDC).

Managers are invited to consult the Validation of Vaccination Requirement for Staffing Actions iService page for tools and detailed information on how to proceed with a staffing action based on the candidate's vaccination status.

• Staffing action requests can be submitted to Human Resources (HR) via the Human Resources Service Centre (HRSC) only once it is confirmed that candidates meet the vaccination requirement.
• Important Change: Managers no longer have to submit a copy of the COVID-19 Vaccination Attestation Form with their staffing requests submitted via the HRSC. Moving forward, managers must confirm directly in the staffing action request, through a newly added attestation section, that they have verified the vaccination requirement as set out in the Policy.
• Accommodation requests must continue to be reviewed and supported by the manager before a staffing action request is submitted.

For additional information on the validation of the vaccination requirement in the context of staffing, consult the Frequently Asked Questions.

The General HR Enquiry Form in the HRSC includes specific vaccination categories and sub-categories to support enquiries from hiring managers:

• Accommodation requests from candidates in the context of staffing actions can be submitted as follows:
  • Category: Vaccination/Other
  • Sub-Category: Accom. medical contraindication (Staffing Action) OR Accom. discrimination (religion or other) (Staffing Action)
• Questions in relation to the application of the vaccination requirement in the context of staffing can be submitted as follows:
  • Select Category: Vaccination/Other
  • Sub-Category: Staffing Advice

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Classification Conversion – Steps to conversion

With classification renewal taking place across the Government of Canada with the Computer Systems (CS) group, the Program and Administrative Services (PA) group, as well as the Financial Management (FI), Internal Audit (AS) and Auditing (AU) groups, your employees will likely have questions and may require further guidance.

Managers, did you know that there is an overview of the timing and steps to conversion available on the Conversion page on iService? Visit today to learn more.

Note: Refer to past editions of the HR info RH bulletin for information on communicating conversion related change, tips on change management and creating trust during the conversion process.

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Interested in hiring an experienced Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) student or recent graduate?

The Diversity Outreach, Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (DoRRA) Team has created an ESDC student inventory for current students and new graduates (FSWEP, CO-OP or RAP). Students interested in this inventory are those who may be looking for opportunities within the department they have come to know and understand. They could also be looking to further diversify their experience with a team in a different branch or in another area of interest to them. This new inventory provides hiring managers with an opportunity to hire an experienced ESDC student or recent graduate who is interested in remaining at ESDC.

Whether you are looking for specific education, experience or diversity, the Student Request Form allows you to identify the criteria that you are looking for in terms of your student employee's background.

Process for managers to access the new ESDC Student Inventory:

1. In order to get a referral from ESDC's student inventory, managers will need to submit a request using the Student Request Form.
2. DoRRA will then send the manager an email within three (3) to four (4) working days with the names of eligible candidates.
3. Hiring managers are strongly encouraged to meet with their candidates via video conference to explain the job, assess their candidates, answer their questions and get their references.

If you are interested in hiring a new student from a Public Service Commission (PSC)-approved student program, the following options are available to you:

For current university or college students:

• Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP)
  • Take part in building a diverse workforce by requesting a student from any one of the four Employment Equity groups. For the Employment Opportunity for Students with Disability (EOSD) inventories, you must select "Person with a disability" and for the Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity (ISEO), you must select "Aboriginal person".
  • If you hire a student with a disability, we encourage you to support them in signing up for the EOSD initiative. If you hire an Indigenous student, we encourage you to support them in signing up for the ISEO initiative. These are both great initiatives from the PSC to support students of Employment Equity groups.

NOTE: When requesting the hire or rehire of a student in the Human Resources Service Centre, please ensure that you are selecting the appropriate program, especially when students are part of the EOSD or ISEO inventory.

• Post-Secondary CO-OP/Internship Program
• Research Affiliate Program

For newly graduated students:

• Virtual Door to Talent with Disabilities
• Indigenous Career Pathways

If you have any questions about ESDC's student inventory, you can contact the DoRRA team at esdc.na.dorra-srrad.na.edsc@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca. Alternatively, you can consult the People Management Support SharePoint or join the MS Teams People Management Support to ask your questions.

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Are you a manager interested in becoming a director? Learn what it takes to join the EX cadre through Group Mentoring for Aspiring Directors!

Are you currently occupying a managerial position (substantive or acting) with direct reports? Are you interested in becoming a director? Apply for Group Mentoring for Aspiring Directors before November 19!

• Develop the strengths and abilities required to transition to a higher level of leadership with an EX mentor;
• All group mentoring meetings will be held virtually on a monthly basis (between January and September 2022); and
• Employment equity groups are encouraged to apply.

Learn more

• Read the FAQs
• Contact the College@ESDC at nc-college-gd@servicecanada.gc.ca

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ESDC Rapid Testing Program

As part of the Treasury Board Secretariat Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination, a Rapid Testing Program is being implemented across the Core Public Administration (CPA) as:

• an accommodation measure to support employees who are unable to be vaccinated AND who must report to work on-site; and
• a temporary measure for:
  • those who are partially vaccinated AND required to report to work onsite, until they are fully vaccinated;
  • those who are unable to be vaccinated and awaiting a decision on their Duty to Accommodate (DTA) request AND are required to work onsite.
• Starting November 15, identified employees:
  • must complete mandatory testing three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, regardless of their work schedule;
  • will be required to report their results directly to Health Canada (HC) on the same day the test was performed (HC tool under development); and
  • inform their direct supervisor of the result (process to be confirmed).

The Rapid Testing Program Office (RTPO) has been reaching out to managers with potentially eligible employees on their team to confirm the need for employees to work onsite. If you have employees who fall in the above categories and have not yet received a communication, please contact the RTPO as soon as possible to enroll them in the Rapid Testing Program.

Complete details on the Rapid Testing Program can be found on iService.

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